want to, you know, make it for these migrants to the come to the u.s., that only benefits the cartels. migrants will continue to come. the type of desperation we saw on our screens, gnat is not deterred by policy debates, it's not. people will continue to migrate north. so what do you do? >> the desperation is so acute, and it is driving people to do things that are debasing their own -- that force them to debase their own humanity, and we're not looking at this, we're not talking about this at all. your reporting is really so essential. i'm so grateful for everything you do to shine a light on this. really important stuff. thanks for making the time tonight. that is our show for this evening. "way too early" with jonathan lemire is coming up next. rnc cochair laura trump

saying the 2020 election is in the past, but we're going to bring you new reporting that donald trump's big lie is now a litmus test for working for that organization. meanwhile, the former president may have a massive cash lifeline thanks to his social media company going public. we'll get a break down on the legal strains that are still threatening his finances. good morning, and welcome to "way too early" on this thursday, march 28th. we appreciate you starting your day with us. i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for being here. we'll begin this morning with the latest from the bridge collapse in baltimore where the bodies of two construction workers who were on the francis scott key bridge have been recovered. the men were found trapped inside a red pickup truck 25 feet under water. the victims were identified as 35-year-old alejandro hernandez fuenes and a 26-year-old.

we're learning more about the other victims who were working on the bridge at the time of the terrible early morning collapse. miguel luna who was in his 40s was a husband, father of three, and had called the state of maryland his home for 19 years. manor in his 30s was also a father and started his own maintenance company. both were described as hardworking humble men by those who knew them. as it stands officials are pausing recovery efforts for the four other construction workers who are presumed dead because it is no longer safe for divers to be in the water. adding that the bodies are likely encased in the metal and concrete of the fallen bridge. you can see the time line on your screen there. authorities say the investigation could take up to two years to complete, calling it a massive undertaking.

the biden administration for its part has pledged an aggressive effort to remove the bridge debris and to try to reopen the port as soon as possible. we, of course, will bring you any further updates on the bridge collapse as the morning continues. we turn now to politics, and two new polls are showing a tight general election race between president joe biden and former president donald trump. in the first as you can see on your screen there, quinnipiac university's new poll has biden up by 3 points over trump, 48% to 45% among registered voters. that is, we should note, within the poll's margin of error. the second new survey, this one from fox news, also finds the race within its margin of error. here trump leads by 5 points, 50% to 45%. the consensus as is every poll right now, this is a close race. but we are seeing a little momentum from biden including both national polls and some key

battleground states. and tonight is shaping up to be one of the biggest nights in democratic politics since biden's election in november of 2020 and his inauguration a few months later. former presidents obama and clinton will join biden in new york city for an hours long fund-raiser including moderated conversations with stephen colbert and a line-up of musical performances that include queen latifah, lizzo and ben plat. the massive effort has already raised over $25 million for the president. that's according to his re-election campaign. the single biggest night of the campaign so far, sure. could signal traffic around here in midtown manhattan. in addition to the event at radio city, first lady jill biden will be hosting an after party at the venue with an additional 500 guests. obama and clinton are trying to expand biden's cast advantage over the former president. you can see on the screen here

it is significant. president biden outraised donald trump in the month of february by more than $11 million. he's raised total nearly $143 million, while trump has a shade under $100 million. that's over a $40 million advantage there as well as biden having nearly $40 million more cash on hand. now, less than 24 hours after being hit with a gag order in his upcoming hush money trial, donald trump has repeatedly lashed out at the judge overseeing the case. on truth social yesterday trump called the judge, quote, biased and conflicted. he didn't provide any evidence of that. he also criticized the judge's daughter saying she used an image of him behind bars as a social media profile picture. but that claim, yes, that claim also false. the new york state court system

says that account is bogus. under a gag order imposed this week trump must refrain from discussing witnesses and court staff and employees in the manhattan district attorney's office. the order did not mention the judge or his family. we should not it's not clear whether he's in violation. after having a bond payment reduced by 68% on monday, trump received yet another financial lifeline yesterday. we turn to this headline now. on tuesday trump's social media company went public on wall street and jumped 16% in value. the move vaulted trump onto bloomberg's list of the world's 500 richest people for the very first time. you see the headline there suggesting he might even have a $7.2 billion fortune. as stephanie ruhle told us a lot of this is funny paper money, not real, not liquid, not cash, not assets not yet anyway. we'll see, though, what happens next. joining us now national politics

reporter for bloomberg who's been doing a lot of reporting on trump and his finances. good morning, stephanie. thanks for being with us this morning. so on the surface this looks like good news for donald trump who's potentially a cash infusion. but will he actually be able to use any of that money to pay his legal bills or pond he owes? >> well, this week the former president was given a significant lifeline. vaulting his net worths to $7.2 billion, making him one of the world's richest people. what you pointed out and my colleagues are reporting on is the curious dilemma where the president's personal fortune has skyrocketed significantly but his campaign still remains crunched for cash. and part of that reason is because the wind fall he was given is subject to stock agreements meaning he can't sell

or transfer the stock he owns for six months. and this is a critical point because if the verdict is upheld in the new york fraud case, he's still liable for $454 million plus interest, plus he still has to pay for $175 million bond by next week. and we have to remember that not long ago he also paid a $91 million bond for a defamation case. this creating a massive hole in his pocket, and all this to say that the legal troubles and the money associated with them could cause trouble for the former president who up until this point has seemed unstoppable. >> certainly it's a good point there. even though his bond was reduced, his overall judgment in that civil case was not. he'd still have to pay that barring a successful appeal. let's talk about the campaign fund-raiser in particular. as mentioned president biden has a huge advantage and he's going to add to that tonight with his major event in new york city with former presidents obama and clinton. talk to us about the fund-raising plans for donald trump. there's some reporting earlier

this week about how a percentage of any money he brings in is indeed going to go to his legal fees. we certainly spent a lot of time yesterday talking about how he's hawking a bible now. at least for now that money is not heading to the campaign but we're not sure if it will head to some legal matters. is the trump campaign been somewhat reliant on small dollar donations, are they going to plan big events and more fund-raising pushes? what's their hope to even out this cash discrepancy? >> certainly. well, we've seen in recent days the former president and his campaign have been really trying to court big donors. on april 6th he has a fund-raiser with billionaire john paulson and this has a slew of really wealthy people backing him and the rnc agreement we've seen come out also suggests they're looking for big dollar donors to supply money to his campaign but the rnc super pac

and the biden campaign has a significant advantage over trump. and while he's courting donors now, that money is going to be used for both his campaign operations, his legal fees, and this is also what republicans are relying on for their down ballot races. so we could see that the republicans could have some trouble raising for the 2024 election in congressional races. >> no doubt there. as i reported earlier this week on "morning joe," the trump team had planned for a rally in arizona and had to pull it down in part because he didn't have the money for it. he is heading to wisconsin next week. stephanie, let's conclude with a little talk about the polls. national polls showing more or less a dead even race. bloomberg, your organization with morning consul had some battleground polls earlier this week that showed trump up slightly in places like arizona, nevada, georgia, but biden has really gained on him in that trio of great lake states, pennsylvania, wisconsin, michigan. how are the two campaigns seeing these numbers? >> yeah, this really does look like an inflection point in the

campaign. biden has been trailing trump for some time, and now he's jumping on the campaign trail, we're seeing him start to make moves and gain momentum and really close that gap. a part of that might come from the "state of the union" address where he saw a bump in his approval rating. and so all of this is to say that he is starting to ramp up his campaign schedule and his move towards the 2024 election. >> national politics reporter for bloomberg, stephanie lai, thank you for starting us off this morning. we appreciate it. still ahead here on "way too early," the republican national committee is hiring, but there's an unusual question applicants are being asked during interviews. we'll explain what that is. plus house oversight committee chairman james comer floats yet another new theory about his impeachment inquiry into president biden. those stories and a check on sports and weather when we come right back. sports and weather when we come right back

hey! asthma's got you going through it? grab nucala for fewer asthma attacks. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask an asthma specialist if nucala is right for you. wanna know a secret?

with new secret outlast, you can almost miss the bus... but smell like you didn't. secret fights 99% of odor-causing bacteria. smell fresh for up to 72 hours. secret works! it's a crime to smell that good. not all caitlin clarks are the same.

caitlin clark. city planner. secret works! just like not all internet providers are the same. don't settle. you want fast. get fast. you want reliable. get reliable. you want powerful. get powerful. get real deal speed, reliability and power with xfinity. she shoots from here? that's kinda my thing.

welcome back. embracing donald trump's big lie appears to be a requirement for anyone who wants to work at the rnc. "the washington post" has new reporting about how those seeking employment at the organization after a trump-backed purge this month have been asked in job interviews if they believe the 2020 election was stolen. according to the paper trump advisers in recent days have quizzed multiple employees who had worked in key 2024 stalts and are now reapplying for jobs. those questions about the 2020 election were open ended. two people familiar with the questions told "the washington post" reporter josh dossy. but as one former rnc employee asked, quote, if you say the election wasn't stolen do you really think you're going to get hired? in a statement an rnc and donald trump spokeswoman defended the questioning as candidates being

asked about their work experience. she added this, we want experienced staff with meaningful views about how elections are won and lost and real experienced-based opinions about what happens in the trenches. just more evidence of a complete trump takeover of the republican party. elsewhere, former new jersey governor chris christie says he will not run for president with the political group no labels. the announcement comes after christie's team spent several weeks researching the potential run. this makes him the latest to turn down the no label offer. leaders of no labels are hoping to find a candidate by april, but say they will not go forward without a clear path foovictory. many democrats feel a no labels bid would only hurt president biden's re-election chances. meanwhile, some sad news. former u.s. senator and vice presidential candidate joe

leiberman has died at the age of 82. his family released a statement announcing his death due to complications from a fall. the four-term senator represented connecticut from 1989 to 2006 as a democrat and later switched to being an independent before retiring from the senate in 2013. lieberman was the first jewish candidate on a major party's presidential ticket when al gore picked him as his running mate in the election. he lost the democratic primary in connecticut in 2006 because of his support of the iraq war, but then still won election that fall as an independent. in 2008 he supports his long time friend, the republican senator john mccain, in his election bid against future president barack obama. lieberman was also a founding chairman of no labels, the centrist third party group. he'd also been floated as a

possible prez dems candidate this time around he turned that now. and he's now passed away at the age of 82. and this week marks one year that wall street journal reporter evan gerschkovich has been wrongfully detained in russia. while on a reporting assignment there last march gerschkovich was arrested by russian officials under allegations of espionage, and he's been held behind bars ever since. the white house continually says charges against him are baseless. gerschkovich is still awaiting trial as russian courts continue to push it back. just this past tuesday the courts extended his pretrial detention period by another three months. to mark the solemn occasion "the wall street journal" newsroom is live streaming a 24 hour read athon of evan's reporting by his peers and colleagues with each passage started with a statement by the journal, quote, one day is a long time. evan's work has been silenced for a whole year. is his journalism and journalism is not a crime.

we certainly applaud their efforts and demand evan's safe and speedy return. still ahead here on "way too early," we'll turn to sports with a look at the men's sweet 16 matchup as march madness continues tonight. plus the controversial ending to the clippers-76ers game that had officials apologizing afterwards. plus, it's the most important day on the calender. that's right, major league baseball opening day. we'll be right back with that. y we'll be right back with that. i've been a pharmacist for 44 years. when i have customers come in and ask for something for memory, i recommend prevagen. number one, because it's effective. does not require a prescription. and i've been taking it quite a while myself and i know it works. and i love it when the customers come back in and tell me, "david, that really works so good for me." makes my day. prevagen. at stores everywhere without a prescription.

(psst! psst!)

ahhh! with flonase, allergies don't have to be scary. spraying flonase daily gives you long lasting non-drowsy relief. flonase all good. also, try our allergy headache and nighttime pills. clippers up by one, 5.1 remaining. throws it across. on the drive inside. blocked. and no whistle. game is over. what a tough finish for philadelphia. ubre got a shot at it, the ball was ejected out. furious. he's on the court yelling at j.b. derosa.

they're going have to try to keep him away. >> as you can see there the philadelphia 76ers and their head coach nick nurse furious after the final whistle over no call on the last play of the game that left the los angeles clippers with a 1-point victory. a lot of contact as he went to the basket. officials later admitted there should have been a foul called against l.a. on the drive by sixers forward. with that loss philly has now fallen to eighth place in the eastern conference having missed a chance on the indiana pacers. we turn now to college basketball. march madness resumes today with a tip off of the men's sweet 16. tonight's games features semifinal matchups of the east and west regions including number one overall yukon taking on fifth seated san diego state. it is baseball season and the los angeles dodgers spending spree continueled on the eve of mlb's opening day, this one in

the united states. the team has agreed to $140 million ten-year extension with catcher will smith. the new contract is the third largest ever for a catcher by total value and raises the team's spending to nearly $1.4 billion for just five key players since december. $700 million, of course, to shohei ohtani. and the dodgers already opened up their season last week. but there'll be even more attention on shohei ohtani today as the two way star tries to remain focused on the field following the firing of his long time interpreter over allegations of illegal gambling and theft. several stars are set to debut with new teams today, and lots of story lines on mlb opening day. juan sota will slot into the bronx line-up when aaron judge

visits this afternoon. we could see josh hader take the mound late in that game after the five time closer signed back in january. the orioles take on the los angeles angel. burnes was traded last month. meanwhile the texas rangers will open up their world series title defense at home against cody bellinger and the chicago cubs. the national league champions the arizona diamondbacks will host the colorado rockies. boston red sox open up on the west coast against seattle. some fans in the north east will have to wait until tomorrow for their teams to take the field. everybody was supposed to play today, all major league teams. but rain, rain, rain in the forecast. today's scheduled opener between the braves and phillies in philadelphia, they've already been postponed because of wet weather. they'll play tomorrow. and speaking of weather and baseball, meteorologist bill karins is here.

we should have taken today off. >> and gone to a game. we would have had to travel. yeah, let's get into the forecast for these games. obviously the east coast waking up to soggy weather. in baltimore it's raining on and off throughout the first half of the day. during the game still showers around, and cincinnati just fine and okay in chicago. no problem as the world series champs clear chis and 72 tonight. that sounds beautiful actually. of course we're indoors in tampa. on the west coast the red sox in seattle will be a little bit rainy. no problems with san diego and also phoenix. and speaking of all that wet weather and rain, the eastern sea board we do have flood watches up and a couple of areas getting poured on. one of them also connecticut 84 is rainy and 95 we have a thunderstorm warning and wake up early in the day with some of those storms. and those flood watches will continue during the day today.

so it's a very soggy thursday all day long for areas of new england. but the weekend is looking promising for easter. >> official red sox prediction, i spent no money this off-season. they're going to spings last place again, several games under 500, and there will be an incredible amount of fan anger about this team. >> and a lot of talk about it on this set. >> no doubt there. bill karins, thank you. good to see you this morning. still ahead on "way too early" with a motion to vacate hanging over his head, could house speaker mike johnson get some help from democrats in order to keep his post? we'll have new reporting on that next. reporting on that next rsv can severely affect the lungs and lower airways. but i'm protected with arexvy. arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. rsv can be serious for those over 60, including those with asthma, diabetes, copd, and certain other conditions.

but i'm protected. arexvy is proven to be over 82% effective in preventing lower respiratory disease from rsv and over 94% effective in those with these health conditions. arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. i chose arexvy. rsv? make it arexvy. [cough] honey... honey. nyquil severe honey. powerful cold and flu relief with a dreamy honey taste nyquil honey, ah, these bills are crazy. she has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't

know that if she owns a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. even a term policy. even a term policy? even a term policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com. no, my denture's uncomfortable! dracula, let's fight back against discomfort. with new poligrip power max hold & comfort. it has superior hold plus keeps us comfy all day with it's pressure absording layer. time for a bite! if your mouth could talk it would ask for...

norman, bad news... i never graduated if from med school. talk what? but the good news is... xfinity mobile just got even better! now, you can automatically connect to wifi speeds up to a gig on the go. plus, buy one unlimited line and get one free for a year. i gotta get this deal... that's like $20 a month per unlimited line... i don't want to miss that. that's amazing doc. mobile savings are calling. visit xfinitymobile.com to learn more. doc?

welcome back to "way too early." it is 5:30 a.m. here on the east coast, 2:30 out west on this thursday morning. i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us. back to washington now where house oversight committee chair james comer is floating a new conspiracy theory about why credible news organizations including some conservative leaning media outlets continue to report that republicans have provided no evidence of any wrongdoing by president biden in order to impeach him. congressman comer appeared earlier this week on fox news radio and had this to say. >> well, garland's working with the deep state who's working with the liberal mainstream media to try to indoctrinate into people's minds there's no evidence. here's the evidence, jimmy.

there's ten different biden family members that received incremental payments through ten shell companies tat received wires from at least five foreign countries that were for services that we have yet to determine for nearly $30 million. and then according to the whistle blowers they didn't pay a pen ein taxes on it. but this all revolves around joe because not only have we proven joe got $250,000, a quarter of a million of that money. >> to be clear there's documented evidence that the $250,000 that comer was just referring to was actually simply a loan repayment. he's yet to provide any evidence. meanwhile, as house speaker mike johnson faces mutiny within his own party over the government funding package deal last week, democrats are discussing what they can get out of the speaker to save his job. the hill's reporting that should far-right republicans attempt a coup against their own speaker,

democrats could offer to save him if johnson then acts on the already passed senate foreign aid package. that package, of course, includes billions in aid for ukraine, israel, taiwan, as well as humanitarian assistance for gaza. joining us now congressional reporter for the hill who's been so carefully covering this. so tell us how this would work. we saw a similar strategy when kevin mccarthy was facing an ouster, and that deal fell apart. do we think johnson would accept it? would he be willing to take democrats help to keep his job in order to get that funding to ukraine and others? >> yeah, jonathan, that's the big question here. would johnson rather not be speaker or be a speaker that was in a way protected by democrats? that's the big question here. but, look, if this motion to vacate does come to fruition and congresswoman marjorie taylor

greene filed it on friday and said she could force a vote on it anytime in the near future, if she does go ahead with that a number of democrats are prepared to step in and protect johnson. and that would happen if he moves forward with ukraine. of course it has stalled on capitol hill for months now. the president put out his supplemental request around september, august of last year. that has not moved in the house because johnson is facing a number of conservative republicans who are apprehensive to send more assistance to kyiv. so now what we're seeing some democrats say is speaker johnson, if you move on this aid or if you put a ukraine aid package on the floor is the reason why you face an ouster, we will come in and protect you. look, that may not look like democrats voting for speaker johnson on the house floor, but there are some procedural things that could go down. a motion to table, a motion to vacate would likely come to it floor. democrats could vote to table that and if enough do it and has the chamber that could essentially be quashed.

of course the main question here is would johnson put that ukraine aid on the table, and does he want to be a speaker that was in essence protected by democrats. a lot of key questions we'll be watching as congresswoman greene continues to dangle this motion to vacate. >> we won't have any movement on this just yet, but if johnson goes for this deal and he puts the ukraine funding on the table, what does the rest of his speakership look like where many republicans including those on the far right would say he's just beholden to the democrats and try to oust him again? how does johnson possibly govern his own conference? >> i mean, that's another key question here, jonathan. of course a lot of unknown right now as we're waiting to see if this motion to vacate comes to the floor, what johnson does and how democrats ultimately react. there are two ways this could go forward. "a," you're definitely going to hear from conservative republicans saying this is a democratic speaker, speaker johnson propped up by liberals. that's the only reason why he's

in this position. let's also remember the current dynamics right now in washington, right? we have a divided city where the senate and white house is controlled by democrats, and republicans are just hanging onto the house by a thread. next month congressman mike gallagher set to retire early. that means republicans are going to have a one vote majority in the house. it was difficult for them to have anything done, and now let's talk about how difficult it's going to be when they have that one-seat edge. it's possible if ajohnson has to go down this route in passing ukraine aid and getting help from democrats, his response could be, well, look, this is divided government. if we had done better we wouldn't be in this situation and handling legislative issues in a different manner and have a legislative majority in washington. >> terrific reporting as always from congressional reporter for the hill. next up here we'll go live to cnbc for an early look what's

driving the day on wall street. plus, japan's currency hits a 34-year low as officials there look to raise interest rates. we'll dig into what thought means for tokyo's economy and how it could impact the u.s. dollar. "way too early" will return in just a moment. " will return in just a moment.

head & shoulders is launching something huge. the bare minimum. anti-dandruff shampoo made with only nine ingredients - no sulfates, silicones or dyes

and packaged with 45% less plastic - giving you outstanding dandruff protection and leaving hair beautiful and moisturized. major dandruff protection, minimal ingredients. job done. new head & shoulders bare. time now for business, and for that let's bring in cnbc's silvia amaro who joins us live from london. wall street appears to be on track for its second highest quarter and fifth straight winning month. tell us what we should expect today. >> at this stage, john, futures suggest it could be a slow start to the equity trading session on wall street. however, we saw some significant moves on wednesday. just to give you an idea, we had the s&p posting a fresh record close, and the dow posting its

best day so far this year. in terms of what we're looking at today, it's all about data. we're getting gdp figures as well as consumer sentiment numbers. it's worth keeping in mind equity markets are going to be closed tomorrow for good friday. and so some of the market reaction to today's data as well as key data that's due tomorrow might only happen at the start of next week. but let's see what investors will have to say about the health of the u.s. economy and what they're expecting in terms of potential rate cuts from the fed as well. >> we'll certainly be watching that. so an exchange rate between the japanese yen depreciated yesterday against the u.s. dollar. tell us what that could mean for both country's economies? >> so in essence we are monitoring this exchange rate quite closely because we did see the yen reaching a 34-year low on wednesday. this comes off the back of the fact investors are expecting

japanese authorities will intervene in the currency markets. we actually heard from the finance minister of japan suggesting that they could go ahead with that and expects that to happen very soon. and in essence if we do see them propping up their currency, ultimately this could be beneficial for japan from the point of view they have an exporting heavy economy, and therefore a stronger currency would help them. of course when looking at currencies, it's worth keeping in mind it's not such a black and white picture. and we could see a stronger japanese yen, it might not be the case we'll see a lower u.s. dollar. it also depends on what's happening state side. so let's keep it -- a close eye on this exchange rate. >> so opened the show talking about the human toll of the bridge collapse. and it's disrupted travel and global supply chains. how are companies beginning to

deal with the economic fallout? >> so at this stage really it's just the initial stage of the aftermath of the collapse of the bridge. so we're just starting to hear from some of the logistics company in terms of what they are trying to do to address this, and in essence they are telling us that they are communicating with clients quite closely in terms of what they can expect regarding products that they have bought, for instance, because what we're looking at here is naturally a rerouting of some of these trade flows, and that could have implications in the short-term for how much consumers are paying for products. but at this stage it's still early to assess the full economic impact naturally worth as well to keep monitoring this situation. >> cnbc's silvia amaro live from london, thank you as always. still ahead here on "way too early," the biden campaign is trying to reassure americans

that the economy is getting stronger. but its messaging may not be working at least not yet. we'll break down the results of a new poll and dig into the current state of the u.s. economy in this election year. "way too early" will be right back with that. e right back with that try killing bugs the worry-free way. not the other way. zevo traps use light to attract and trap flying insects with no odor and no mess. they work continuously, so you don't have to. zevo. people-friendly. bug-deadly. no, my denture's uncomfortable! dracula, let's fight back against discomfort. with new poligrip power max hold & comfort. it has superior hold plus keeps us comfy all day with it's pressure absording layer. time for a bite! if your mouth could talk it would ask for... poligrip.

ah mornings! cough? congestion? i'm feeling better. all in one and done with new mucinex kickstart. headache? better now. new mucinex kickstart gives all-in-one and done relief with a morning jolt of instant cooling sensation. it's comeback season. [dog whimpers] [thinking] why always the couch? does he need to go to puppy school? get his little puppy diploma? how much have i been spending on this little guy? when your questions about life turn into questions about money... there's erica. the virtual financial assistant to help you spend, save, and plan smarter. only from bank of america. business. it's not a nine-to-five an proposition.r. it's all day and into the night. it's all the things that keep this world turning. the go-tos that keep us going. the places we cheer. and check in. they all choose the advanced network solutions

and round the clock partnership from comcast business. see why comcast business powers more small businesses than anyone else. get started for $49.99 a month plus ask how to get up to an $800 prepaid card. don't wait- call today.

welcome back. despite president joe biden holding rallies across the country in recent weeks to tout the state of the u.s. economy, his message still may not be resonating with many americans. according to a new fox news poll, more than half of registered voters say they would trust donald trump more with the economy than president biden by something of a significant margin. 56% to 41%. joining us now live from d.c. is senior washington correspondent for bloomberg news. she's the author of the new book titled "paper soldiers how the weaponization of the dollar

changed the world order." good to see you this morning. congrats on the book. treasury secretary janet yellen is doing her part to talk about the economy. she was in georgia yesterday ahead of a trip to china where he spoke about china's economic ambitions are disporting global prices. tell us about the message and the fallout here in the states. >> it's interesting, jonathan, janet yellen went to georgia, a swing state just ahead of her tripe to china. she wants to push across the message bidennomics if it's not working the senior officials, the biden administration are actively working behind the scenes to make sure that those left behind are going to see their economic future brighten. janet yellen told constituents in georgia and told everyone else she's going to georgia in the coming weeks to tell them their industrial policies are damaging their own company and workers but also america's companies and workers. they're producing so many electric vehicles, so many green and climate friendly products,

lithium ion batteries, et cetera, that it is starting to distort the supply chain and make it harder for american firms to sell their own products. >> here at home you're also following the relationship between the presidential election and the global exchange rate for the dollar. tell us why that matters. >> you know, there's a prevailing view republican administrations or a trump presidency, trump 2.0 will trigger a stronger exchange rate for the dollar, meaning that we can buy more goods overseas. but what markets are actually unaware of is that research from the past four decades has shown that actually republican administrations tend to trigger a weaker trending dollar. but the interesting pivot, jonathan, we're now seeing obviously is populism. we're seeing more inward looking economic and trade policies being embraced by both republicans and democrats, not just donald trump, not just republicans. and that is something that actually relies on a weaker

exchange rate. so we're going to see governments increasingly in the u.s. administrations hoping for a weaker exchange rate to help the manufacturing sector and blue collar workers. >> and your new book, of course, dives into all of that. lastly and briefly i think there's not been much coverage yet on trump's tariff proposals, significant increases across the board. what would be the impact on that on the u.s. economy? >> in the near-term there could be some damage, but we've actually seen the american electorate has the appetite or the tolerance for a little bit of economic pain in the short-term for long-term gains. so if it does rebalance trade agreements and make it easier for the american manufacturing sector to return to boomright. the new book important especially now, "paper soldiers, how the weaponization of the dollar changed the world order." saleha, senior washington correspondent for bloomberg news, we appreciate it. up next on "way too early,"

the united states and israel resume talks after benjamin netanyahu originally canceled a meeting. we'll explain his aboutface and dig into the details about what to expect. then, coming up on "morning joe," two new polls show a tight race in the general election matchup between president biden and former president trump. what voters are saying as the election approaches. plus, we'll bring you the latest out of baltimore, where several victims of the key bridge collapse have been identified. also ahead, connecticut governor ned lamont is remembering his home state senator joe beeb lieberman as a of integrity and conviction. the governor will talk about the late senator's life and legacy. "morning joe" just a few moments away. you didn't live this strong, this long to get put on the shelf like a porcelain doll. if you have postmenopausal osteoporosis and are at high risk for fracture,

you can build new bone with evenity®. ask your doctor if you can do more than just slowing down bone loss with evenity®. want stronger bones? then build new bone; evenity® can help in just 12 months. evenity® is proven to reduce spine fracture risk by 73%. evenity® can increase risk of heart attack, stroke, or death from a cardiovascular problem. do not take evenity® if you have low blood calcium, or are allergic to it. serious allergic reactions and low blood calcium have occurred. tell your doctor about jaw bone problems, as they have been reported with evenity®. or about pain in your hip, groin, or thigh, as unusual thigh bone fractures have occurred. don't let a break put you on a shelf. talk to your doctor about building new bone with evenity®!

(psst! psst!) ahhh! with flonase, allergies don't have to be scary. spray flonase sensimist daily for non-drowsy long lasting relief in a scent free, gentle mist. flonase all good. also, try our allergy headache and nighttime pills.

welcome back. the white house now says the israeli government has agreed to reschedule a visit to washington. yesterday, officials announced they're working to find a convenient date with both

parties. president biden had asked to meet with israeli leaders to discuss the ground offensive in rafah, where millions with sought refuge. prime minister netanyahu had canceled the trip after the u.s. allowed the united nations to pass a cease-fire resolution. despite netanyahu's anger, israeli defense minister gallant met with senior biden administration officials earlier in the week, pre-planned and separate from the delegation president biden requested. a official tells me and my colleagues at politico that netanyahu reversed course following gallant's constructive discussions in washington, reporting netanyahu felt he scored enough political points at home standing up to washington. also, it points to the limits of president biden's efforts to conduct foreign policy with an emphasis on personal relationships. he's known netanyahu for decades. netanyahu, though, spurning a lot of biden's overtures. real tension between the governments now. joining us to further talk about

it, pentagon reporter for "politico," laura seligman. good to see you. let's get your take and what officials are telling you about netanyahu's reversal and why it is important he is going to send the delegation to washington. >> certainly, it is a reversal. i think it looks like netanyahu may have realized that he overplayed his hand a little bit here. clearly, there is a lot of political pressure domestically on netanyahu, not only on the war in gaza but also from this bill that would conscript ultra orthodox jewish men into the military. that's angering some of the hard-right coalition that netanyahu leans on for his coalition government. if there are new elections, of course, he's concerned he may lose. a lot of political pressure at home. of course, for president biden, this is a problem because he has less and less leverage with netanyahu, the more precarious his political position comes. it is certainly good these meetings have been rescheduled, but let's hope they actually

occur. in the meantime, of course, as you said, the israeli defense minister did meet this week at the pentagon with secretary austin, blinken, sullivan, and others. they discussed the rafah invasion, getting more aid to gaza, and discussed weapons that israel wants the u.s. to send, to approve, some f-35s among other things. i think there's a lot to talk about right now, the way this war is going. >> certainly, the operation in rafah looms a major flash point with the americans really urging israel to proceed cautiously and minimize civilian casualties. you have new reporting this morning about america's plans to build a floating pier off the coast of gaza. the president touted that in the state of the union address. what are the new details? what are we learning? >> this is already a complex project. the u.s. military sent five army ships to go over and build this pier. they're building not only a pier but also an 1,800-foot causeway

that needs to be anchored to the beach. what i learned this week is the idf has agreed to establish what they call a security bubble for these u.s. military personnel who are actually building the pier, as well as the people that will ultimately be taking the aid from the vessels that go to the pier, then distributing them onto the ground in gaza. that is a dangerous mission, of course. hamas is a threat. there's also a threat from israeli shells, israeli bombing. then, of course, the threat from the desperate gazans that could be rushing the pier, trying to get the aid. so the security bubble, the fact that israel is doing it, that is certainly a good thing. the plans are not finalized yet. there still may be another partner that's involved depending on where the pier is built, but it's certainly a step in the right direction. >> let's move to the war in ukraine. russia is reeling from the terror attack in moscow last

week, yet not stopping its air strikes on some ukrainian cities. what is the latest simply in terms of the fighting at the front? does it remain more or less stagnant? >> it does, yes. in fact, in the most recent weeks, russia has taken some ground. ukraine has taken some back. russia has taken some more. in general, they're fighting over these small pockets of land. most recently, a month ago or so, they lost the city of avdiivka. that was a significant blow symbolically for ukraine since it had been an important city for morale. but in terms of the actual ground and territory exchanging hands, there's not a lot going on here. russia has started bombing cities like kharkiv again. they actually haven't been bombing that southern city in some time. russia is upping these air strikes here. indeed, we're seeing that president putin is blaming this awful attack on a concert in moscow on ukraine, even though isis-k, the terrorist group

that's based in afghanistan, has already taken credit for that. that just shows you, again, the political pressure that putin is under at home, and the fact that he's still trying to take more territory in ukraine. >> yeah, isis-k taking credit and proviing evidence that they were responsible, still not changing putin's narrative to at least place some of the blame on ukraine. covering a lot of ground for us this morning, laura thank you, as always. thanks for getting up "way too early" with us on this thursday morning. "morning joe" starts right now. the one constant through all the years, ray, has been baseball. america's ruled by it like an army of steamrollers. it has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. but baseball has marked the time. this field, this game, it's a part of our past, ray. it reminds us